


Love in the digital age (isn't any easier to figure out)

by kindfang



Category: Free!
Genre: Customer Service & Tech Support, Fluff, Haru works in tech support, Humor, M/M, Makoto is hopeless, Rin watches too many yakuza movies, Tech Support AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6073927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindfang/pseuds/kindfang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know what your problem is," Haru cuts in.</p><p>The man looks amazed. "That fast?!"</p><p>"You're using Internet Explorer."</p><p>"Y...Yes...?"</p><p>Haru has never met anyone this technologically illiterate since his grandmother died. "That's your problem," he continues slowly. "Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft. You need to use a different browser."</p><p>Comprehension slowly dawns on the man's face before it gets interrupted by concern. Haru would find his concerned face more attractive if he weren't an IE user. Sadly, the universe is a cold place and no one always gets what they want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in the digital age (isn't any easier to figure out)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm posting this at 3:30am... sorry for any mistakes!!

The guy is kinda cute, Haru decides, in a puppy-with-oversized-paws kind of way. He's been standing in the hallway just outside the tech center door for ten minutes now, obviously trying to work up the courage to come in and ask for help. Haru's shift doesn't end for another hour, so he couldn't care less how long the guy takes, though sooner would be nicer than later. Haru has tests to study for.

 

Finally, though, green eyes accidentally lock onto Haru's the next time he passes by the window, and social obligation presses him to either enter or return to his dorm room.

 

"Hello," Haru says when the door chimes, absently noting the man's broad shoulders and well-muscled arms nervously clutching a laptop. "How can I help you."

 

The man doesn't seem deterred by Haru's emotionless recital of his employee script. If anything, he's actually a little flustered, if his inability to look at Haru straight-on is any indication. His ears are slowly turning red, which Haru decides is also kinda cute.

 

"H-Hi!" the guy squeaks, before flushing and clearing his throat. "I mean, um, hi! My-- I think my computer might be broken, and I was sort of, um, wondering-if-you-could-fix-it?"

 

Haru quirks a brow, but doesn't comment on the stuttering and too-quick speech. "Could you possibly explain the problem to me?"

 

The man gives a quick nod and unfolds his arms from around the computer, laying it carefully on Haru's desk. "Yeah! It's just-- whenever I open Internet Explorer now, it just immediately crashes, but it doesn't happen with any of my other programs--"

 

"I know what your problem is," Haru cuts in.

 

The man looks amazed. "That fast?!"

 

"You're using Internet Explorer."

 

"Y...Yes...?"

 

Haru has never met anyone this technologically illiterate since his grandmother died. "That's your problem," he continues slowly. "Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft. You need to use a different browser."

 

Comprehension slowly dawns on the man's face before it gets interrupted by concern. Haru would find his concerned face more attractive if he weren't an IE user. Sadly, the universe is a cold place and no one always gets what they want.

 

"But..." the man begins again, "if I can't use Internet Explorer, how can I download a new browser...?"

 

Haru sighs, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. He doesn't want another late night cram session, but explaining the process to the man would take even longer than just fixing the problem himself. After rapidly working through the seven stages of grief for one fewer night at the lap pool, Haru slides a pad of paper and a pen across the desk. "Just leave your name and phone number here, please. I'll fix your computer and you can pick it up in an hour."

 

The man lets out a relieved breath and gives Haru a much more natural smile than the one he's been wearing, which... is more than kinda cute. His whole face lights up and Haru finds himself beginning to become endeared. "Thank you so, so much, um--," a small pause as he reads Haru's name tag, "Nanase! Really, thank you, I'm so hopeless with technology sometimes--"

 

"I can tell," Haru says, almost instantly regretting how rude that sounded, but the man just laughs a bit.

 

"My friends yell at me for it all the time; I think they're all more than a little exasperated. So really, thank you for this."

 

That was probably the most sincere thank you Haru has ever received in his life, which is touching, but also a little strange considering he's just helping this guy do something that literally everyone else has already done with their computers.

 

Just as Haru is about to respond, though, a harried-looking girl on the verge of tears practically runs in, exclaiming that the library printer isn't working and she needs to print her paper RIGHT NOW. The man lets her go to Haru's desk, giving Haru another grateful smile and a small wave on his way out.

 

After he's helped the (very thankful, now possibly slightly enamored) girl with the printer, Haru glances down at the paper taped to the man's laptop.

 

The name Makoto suits him, he decides.

 

* * *

 

Makoto doesn't return until Haru's next shift on the following day; he doesn't take nearly as long outside the door this time, though he only looks slightly less flustered.

 

“I am  _ so _ sorry,” he gushes almost as soon as he’s inside. “My friend invited me out to this thing, and I felt guilty saying no, but he told me that it’d be alright if I left my computer here overnight, and--”

 

“It’s fine,” Haru interrupts. “That’s why you gave me your number, remember? So the office can text you when it’s done, and then annoy you until you either collect your computer or change your phone number.”

 

Makoto huffs out a surprised laugh, and Haru can practically see the tension leaving his broad shoulders. “Well, that’s a relief. I’d hate to inconvenience you-- or, um, anyone here, really.” The last part is added on hastily, but Haru doesn’t mention it. 

 

Makoto asks how much he owes (nothing; services are free for students), wishes Haru a nice evening (it will be nice, Haru already knows, since he has time to swim), and slowly, almost reluctantly, leaves with his laptop, anything else he might have said to Haru dying on the tip of his tongue.

 

...Until he is suddenly back not twenty minutes later, looking sheepish and explaining that he has no idea where anything is on his new browser. Haru sighs in almost fond exasperation and gestures for Makoto to come behind the desk and pull up a chair beside his; his suggestion is rewarded with another blinding smile and Haru has to blink a few times to refocus.

 

In the end, he skips his date with the pool. Haru isn’t as sad about that as he usually would be, with Makoto leaning over his shoulder to watch the computer as if Haru was performing magic. 

 

* * *

 

In all honestly, Haru had thought that he had seen the last of Makoto after the web browser tutorial. He hasn’t returned once in the week since then, and they don’t seem to share any classes, either. Haru’s a little disappointed, not that he wants to admit it. Makoto is just… genuinely nice, in a way Haru finds refreshing. 

 

It isn’t until the following Friday that Haru hears about him again, this time from Rei, though he doesn’t know it at first. 

 

“Haruka-senpai!” Rei calls as Haru enters the office to begin his shift. “Rin-senpai told me to tell you-- there was a man in here looking for you yesterday.”

 

Haru looks up from pinning on his nametag, interest piqued. “Rin didn’t give some strange guy my work schedule, did he?” he asks, only half joking.

 

“No, no!” Rei says, flustered, trying to defend Rin’s honor. “He just wanted you to know, since there was that one stalker last year…”

 

Haru rolls his eyes. “He was hardly a stalker, Rei. All he did was leave those annoying sticky note love confessions everywhere. Rin’s just being overprotective again.” He just hopes Rin didn’t try to intimidate whoever it was with those lame yakuza-esque lines he had to have picked up from movies. They only seem to work when he has his 185-centimeter boyfriend standing menacingly behind him, which Rin has yet to realize. 

 

“That was still really weird, Haruka-senpai…” Rei mutters under his breath, but he drops the subject nonetheless and finishes packing up his things, throwing a “goodbye!” over his shoulder as he leaves.

 

Haru settles in for a long evening at the tech center, plugging in his laptop and pulling out one of the books he needs for his upcoming essay. He’s hardly two paragraphs in before the door swings open, which, while unusual for a Friday night, isn’t unprecedented. 

 

No, he’s surprised because it’s Makoto who comes striding in, phone clutched resolutely in his hand. As soon as he makes eye contact with Haru, though, his stride becomes more of a shuffle, and Haru can practically see the purpose and determination on his face drain rapidly into hesitance. His ears are redder, too, Haru notes.

 

After a moment of awkward silence, Haru gives him a small wave, and Makoto seems to remember what his goal in coming here was. 

 

“Hi again, Nanase-san!” he says, smile back in place. “Um, you’re probably going to think I’m just the biggest idiot ever, but I kind of, maybe, dropped my phone in the sink…”

 

“Have you tried leaving it to dry in rice?” Haru asks, straightforward as ever. 

 

Makoto actually nods, which he wasn’t expecting, and sets the phone down on the desk. “I did! I left it to dry for a couple of days, and it’s turning on now, but for some reason the camera light won’t turn off when I unlock the screen…”

 

Haru hums and takes the phone to look at it, fingers brushing against Makoto’s in the process. Makoto quickly snaps his hand back to his side, and Haru does his best not to smile. “How long has it been like this?”

 

“Ah, about a week…”

 

“Why didn’t you come in earlier, then?” Haru hopes his question sounds more practical than accusatory, though he is the slightest bit curious.

 

Makoto’s gaze slides away from him, and he smiles sheepishly. “I, um, actually came in yesterday, but I left after…”

 

“Wait,” Haru says, “were you the man who came in yesterday during Rin’s shift looking for me?”

 

Makoto’s eyes widen and his face turns beet red in less than a second. “I-- That’s-- It’s just because, um, you helped me so fast last time, so I--” His words practically tumble over each other on their way out of his mouth, and this time Haru can’t help the small smile that steals across his face. 

 

“I can fix it,” Haru says, cutting off Makoto’s harried explanations. “It won’t take too long, so you can just stay here, if you want to.”

 

Makoto beams gratefully at him, and Haru finds himself turning his head to the side, as if the sun was shining overly bright in his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Over the next three weeks, Makoto breaks his phone fifteen times. 

 

Well,  _ break _ is a pretty generous word for what Haru is confronted with. The first couple times were almost plausible: the lock screen wouldn’t open, a system update had screwed with an app, and so on. By the third week, though, it’s clear that Makoto is practically making things up on the spot. His poker face is awful, and he fidgets nervously until Haru agrees to fix the problem of the day. His resulting smile does not grow any less brilliant, though.

 

Haru is mystified. He  _ knows _ Makoto is just making up excuses to be here, but he can’t for the life of him figure out  _ why _ . Who wants to spend evenings in the tech center without even the incentive of earning a salary? 

 

Not that he’s complaining, of course. Though he’s unable to go to the pool quite as frequently, the conversation and friendly companionship that Makoto eagerly provides more than make up for it. Haru listens to Makoto talk about his classes, his family, and his friends’ antics with a rare interest, seeing as it’s Makoto the one telling him. Makoto doesn’t seem to mind that he isn’t too forthcoming about his own life, though Haru does share a bit more than he usually would with someone he didn’t even know a month ago. 

 

It’s Rin who finally helps him figure it out. “Has lover boy come by recently?” he asks conversationally as they head to the showers after a race. “It took him a couple tries to figure out your schedule, you know, but I haven’t seen him at all since he did.”

 

Haru cocks his head a bit in confusion. “Lover boy?” he repeats, searching his memory for someone that might refer to. He draws a blank. There haven’t really been any repeats of the sticky-note-love-confession incident in a while. 

 

“ _ Haru _ , are you serious?” Rin groans. “ _ Lover boy _ , you know, the guy who’s been mooning over you for like, a month now? He seriously shows up so much in your daily logs it’s unbelievable. Tall? Brown hair?”

Haru chokes. “ _ Sousuke _ ?”

 

“Wha-- no! No, what the fuck, I’m not talking about Sousuke! He’s only come in to get things fixed, like, twice! During  _ my _ shift! I’m talking about the guy-- fuck, what’s his name-- he has green eyes--”

 

“Makoto…?” Haru provides hesitantly. 

 

Rin perks up. “Yeah! Makoto. That guy. Have you seriously not noticed him giving you goo-goo eyes? All someone has to do is even  _ mention _ you and he blushes. ...Ah, shit, did you bring any shampoo? I forgot mine.”

 

Haru absently hands him the shampoo, mulling over this new viewpoint of Makoto. It… would explain a lot, he figures, from the blushing and the nerves to the obvious excuses to spend time with Haru during work… 

 

Suddenly Haru feels a bit foolish. 

 

“Oh,” he says, and Rin snorts in amusement.

 

“Yeah, ‘ _ oh _ .’”

 

* * *

 

Makoto  _ isn’t _ obsessed, despite what Nagisa may claim.

 

Sure, he stops by the tech center… a lot, but that’s only because it’s free for students! If he thinks something might be wrong with his phone, why  _ shouldn’t _ he go, just in case? Better safe than sorry, right?

 

...Okay, that lie stopped working a while ago, even to himself. The first couple of times he went in for repairs, he really did need them, but everything after that was complete improvisation. Not even good improvisation. Actually pretty awful improvisation.

 

Makoto just can’t help it, really, when he loses every nerve he thought he had (which, really, wasn’t very many to begin with) as soon as Nanase catches his eye. On his first visit to the tech center, he has to spend a good ten minutes in the hall psyching himself up to go inside after he glances at Nanase through the window because, oh god, there is no way he  _ isn’t _ going to make a complete fool of himself in front of someone that beautiful. He definitely does make a fool of himself, especially since, wow, Nanase only gets prettier up close-- his eyelashes are so  _ long _ , and, oh no, is he reading Makoto’s favorite book?-- but Nanase, in some weird twist of fate, seems to find him more amusing than annoying. 

 

The fact that he panics and makes himself look like an idiot who still uses Internet Explorer when he had really gone in for a virus scan is irrelevant, anyway, since Nanase happened to run one for him after Makoto left his computer there.

 

When he breaks his phone, he’s almost happy about it, since it means an excuse to go to the tech center and visit Nanase again. In his excitement he doesn’t even consider the fact that Nanase may not be there  _ all the time _ , even if that’s where he exists in Makoto’s mind, and Makoto is forced to stutter out awkward excuses to the redheaded stranger giving him suspicious looks from behind the counter.

 

“Look,” the redhead says, “I’ve dealt with creeps coming in here looking for Haru before, so don’t think I won’t deal with you, too, if you give him trouble--”

 

“No!” Makoto exclaims. “No, no, I wouldn’t-- He just-- he fixed my problem so fast last time, so I-- I’ll just. I’ll come back later.”

 

He can tell the redhead doesn’t believe him, but he doesn’t stop him from leaving, either, and seeing Nanase the next day makes the whole encounter worth it, anyway. 

 

Once Makoto figures out Nanase’s shifts through trial and error (he works evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), he’s in the tech center constantly. Every visit is preceded by a five-minute mental pep talk and a silent recital of the lines he’s written for himself:  _ Hey, Nanase, there’s this ramen place that just opened up around the corner, and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me? No pressure or anything! You’re just kind of the most beautiful person I’ve ever met and I’m maybe a little in love with your eyes? And your nose is really cute, too, and do you play any sports? Because-- _

 

Of course, his determination never makes it past the doorway once Nanase looks up and greets him, and suddenly he finds himself stumbling over yet another poorly-crafted lie about his phone. If Nanase suspects anything, he never calls him on it, though, and Makoto is able to spend anywhere between ten minutes and an hour at Nanase’s side, making easy conversation. 

 

This has been going on for over three weeks.

 

Makoto’s beginning to lose hope that he’ll ever work up the courage to ask Nanase out. For all he knows, any returned interest Nanase might have given him is only conjured up by Makoto’s overeager imagination. Or, worse, what if Nanase’s only humoring him? Not that Nanase seems like the type of person to humor  _ anyone _ , really, with how blunt Makoto’s learned he can be. 

 

Still, it is these fears that haunt Makoto as he steps into the tech center for what must be the twentieth time ( _ twentieth time’s the charm! _ he tells himself despairingly). Nanase is sitting behind the desk, reading as usual, long fingers pausing on the page when the chime above the door jingles. 

 

One look, and Makoto knows today won’t be the today, either. 

 

“Good evening, Nanase!” he says. “I’m so sorry to bother you again, but my phone--”

 

“Your phone’s been having a lot of trouble lately,” Nanase interrupts. Makoto’s eyes widen in shock. “Are you sure you shouldn’t just get a new one?”

 

Makoto’s frozen, his heart pounding in his ears. Has Nanase figured him out? “I--” he says, “That’s-- It’s not the phone, really, I’m just, um, not very technology-savvy? Ha. Haha…”

 

Nanase gives him a long, inscrutable look that makes Makoto swallow nervously. “I think,” he says, finally, “that I’d like to make a deal with you, Makoto.”

 

Makoto nods hesitantly, not trusting his voice to remain even.

 

“If you can make it one week without coming to the tech center for any repairs, I’ll go on a date with you. Isn’t there a pretty good ramen place around here? That’s what I’ve heard, anyway.”

 

Makoto has to take a minute to process what has just been asked of him, because-- did Nanase just…? The silence is clearly beginning to unnerve Nanase, if his small frown is any indication, and that detail is what makes Makoto realize yes, that really did just happen, and Nanase  _ meant it _ .

 

A smile so wide it makes his cheeks hurt slowly grows on his face. “Okay. I’ll see you in a week, Nanase.”

 

Nanase ducks his head and blushes. “Haru,” he mumbles. “I call you Makoto, so you should call me Haru.”

 

If possible, Makoto smiles even wider. “Haru,” he repeats, testing the name on his tongue. “Haru, I’ll see you in a week. You already have my phone number, so text me the details, alright?”

 

Haru nods, the small upturn of his lips making Makoto feel positively enamored. “No repairs,” he reminds him. “Something tells me you won’t need them, though.”

 

* * *

 

Makoto is horrified when, six days later, he drops his phone and shatters the screen.

 

Haru has to stifle a laugh at his dejected look when he slinks in ten minutes ‘til closing time, but promises they’ll still go on the date, anyway.

He is extremely relieved when Makoto confesses that he is not, in fact, an Internet Explorer user, and decides that the universe is actually pretty alright, sometimes.

**Author's Note:**

> ah yes... meet-cute AUs... my ultimate weakness...  
> come yell at me abt headcanons at lokiodinson.tumblr.com!


End file.
